March 27, 2025 – March 27, 2025
Relish the opportunities in this natural playground as you observe flying dolphins, gannets and blue penguins. The diving is renowned as some of the best in the world. Visit the historic Waitangi Treaty House, where the founding document of New Zealand was signed.
Cruise the turquoise waters and unspoiled inlets of the Bay of Islands and see Cape Brett Lighthouse, the Hole-in-the-Rock sea arch and more. You’ll depart the pier aboard a stable catamaran featuring roomy indoor and outdoor viewing decks, sailing under what could be the earth’s bluest skies into a constellation of 150 unspoiled islands off the North Island’s northeast corner. The Bay of Islands is both magnificent and historically significant: New Zealand’s earliest Maori settlers migrated here 700 years ago, and its first British missionary settlers arrived in 1814. Charles Darwin stopped by not long after, and in more modern times, American adventure writer Zane Grey popularized the islands as a big-game fishing paradise. You’ll journey through these fabled waters today, passing picturesque islets as you make for crisply white Cape Brett Lighthouse, perched high atop a spectacular headlands cliff. You’ll see Motukokako Island with its dramatic Hole-in-the-Rock arch and visit another major highlight, the majestic Grand Cathedral Cave. Slowly cruising among the inner islands, you’ll likely have engaging encounters with the schools of dolphin that frequent these waters. Commentary from the captain will help fill in the natural and cultural history of it all.
